Katie O'Reilly
@drkatfish.bsky.social
Aquatic Invasive Species with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant | #GreatLakes | Come for the #ecology & #scicomm, get reeled in by the fish puns https://iiseagrant.org/about/our-team/katie-oreilly/
⛵ Boats aren't the only way invasive species spread. CLS's Paige Filice and MSU faculty member Alexa Warwick are collaborating with the pet trade to better understand invasive species and pathogen introductions to support ecosystems and responsible pet ownership. www.canr.msu.edu/news/bridgin...
My favorite things in one story: wetlands, conservation success stories, and names that make you giggle like a middle-schooler ipmnewsroom.org/at-spunky-bo...
At Spunky Bottoms, an Illinois River wetland’s resilience is on display - IPM Newsroom
The Nature Conservancy acquired the roughly 1,300-acre Merwin Preserve at Spunky Bottoms in the late 1990's and allowed the site to return to being a floodplain wetland.
ipmnewsroom.org
Talk about a spooky name: Invasive bloody red shrimp seem to have successfully set up shop in all five Great Lakes. Researchers don't have clear evidence that the shrimp are harming the Great Lakes, but any change to an already wobbly food web could bring long-term consequences:
Scientists find proof of invader established in Lake Superior
By Eric Freedman Scientists now have evidence that yet another invasive aquatic species — the bloody red shrimp — is established in all five Great Lakes.
buff.ly
It. WORKED!!! The calling and comments and yelling! It works. It's a temporary stall but it can be made permanent. www.scientificamerican.com/article/sena...
U.S. senators push against giving political appointees control over science funding
These proposed changes have seen significant bipartisan pushback and have been criticized by scientists across disciplines
scientificamerican.com
Join our team! The UW–Madison Aquatic Sciences Center, which administers both Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Water Resources Institute, is hiring an Associate Director for Outreach and Engagement. https://jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/associate-director-for-outreach-and-engagement-madison-wisconsin-united-states
In one month! #SciArtSeptember returns for a 6th year. Open to all who are curious about the places where art and science connect. Make new work, post works in progress, or share old favourites. Post when and what you like. 🐡 #SciArt #SciComm
GARS can be indicators of river-floodplain restoration from Minnesota down to Mississippi and Louisiana! Thanks @alexlubben.bsky.social for joining us in the field with photojournalist Sophie Germer for this story @nolanews.bsky.social! bit.ly/4brAgY0 @garlab.bsky.social
Are Mississippi River restoration efforts working? Scientists say this fish could hold the answer.
They went 1,000 miles for one baby fish. Finding it means a Mississippi floodplain restoration is working.
bit.ly
Two fish that helped get me to “Genius” on Wednesday’s @nytimes.com Spelling Bee for this week’s #SundayFishSketch
This #SundayFishSketch is Anomalochromis thomasi, the African butterfly cichlid. Native to western Africa, this was the first cichlid I kept. 🐟 #SciArt
#SundayFishSketch Been doing exercises from Lynda Barry's 'Making Comics' - here's a pair of ratfish(ish) critters!
Clown Tiggerfish, Balistoides conspicillum, for Sunday Fish Sketch. #sciart #coralreefs #marinelife #sundayfishsketch
Just out for a little glide 〰️ Skates are close relatives of sharks and rays that use their broad, wing-like pectoral fins to glide effortlessly across the seafloor. They are found in a variety of ocean habitats around the world.
Everyday is Shark Week in Coral City🫡 🩺🦈 #nurseshark #sharksofcoralcity #everydayissharkweekincoralcity #shark #coralcitycamera
#FoodieFriday That's a wrap on July's Mi Fresh Fish events -- no, really, that's a wrapped roll of sushi, made with poached lake trout, spicy mayo, and savory seasoned rice! Recipe from Anthony Johnson, food systems specialist for Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, on Freshwater Feasts:
Superior sushi roll
Great Lakes sushi? Give it a try!
buff.ly
Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part
I’ve just realised I have a backlog of spring plankton videos to share! I love this one of a sea gooseberry (Pleurobrachia pileus) as you can really see the ctenes (the combs that give comb jellies their name) working and the iridescent glow bouncing off them. #marineplankton 🦑
Further contradicting the claim that invasive mussels have benefited the Great Lakes: Filtering activities of zebra & quagga mussels remove phytoplankton that the prey of lake whitefish feed on, setting off "a calamitous chain reaction further up the food chain." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
The Great Lakes’ most emblematic fish could be consigned to history books
A delicacy for centuries and a key part of Native tradition, the lake whitefish has seen its population crash. Researchers know why … but stopping it is another matter
theguardian.com
Educators got hands-on with water science this spring at our Project WET Make-and-Take Workshops! Participants explored engaging ways to connect students with water systems and the Great Lakes. 🌊 Read more: cgll.org/resource/bri... #TeachingTuesday
Bringing Water Education to Life in Chicago
Chicagoland educators explore water in Hands-on H2O: Project WET Make-and-Take Workshops hosted by Illinois–Indiana Sea Grant.
cgll.org
Michigan legislators are providing Michigan DNR with one-time funding to help boost struggling whitefish populations. But the money can't make a dent in one of the whitefish's biggest threats: invasive mussels.
Michigan fisheries get one-time funding for whitefish restoration
For the first time, Michigan’s Fisheries Division is getting funding specifically for whitefish recovery, but officials say it's not enough to solve the ecosystem issues causing the species' decline.
buff.ly
Marine invasive species are poised to become an even greater threat to ocean biodiversity as climate change accelerates their success, according to a study by Dr. Nicola Smith @concordia.ca and Dr. William Cheung @ubccoru.bsky.social @science.ubc.ca oceans.ubc.ca/2026/07/27/c...
Seafloor snacking at its spiniest 🦀 This decadent decapod, Paralithodes sp., is also known as a king crab. Spiny king crabs crawl across the seafloor in search of their next meal, which could be other crabs, sea stars, dead animals, or organic material that sank from the surface waters above.
When you set an Out of Office e-mail message there should be an option to set an additional message that goes out for two or three days afterward reminding people to be gentle with you while you try to claw your way out of the mountain of suddenly urgent tasks that descends on you upon your return 😓
